Vermont politics from Nancy Remsen, Terri Hallenbeck and the rest of the Burlington Free Press staff

Deb Markowitz campaign website, curated

Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of posts analyzing the websites of Vermont candidates for governor. (See Friday’s post on Brian Dubie.) This is a key way for candidates to touch constituents. My observations are largely directed about information posted on the sites. Posts will explore use of multimedia, recurring themes and presentationto evaluate effectiveness. I will offer observations from time to time during the campaign.

Candidate: Secretary of State Deb MarkowitzAffiliation: Democrat, Washington CountyWebsite:http://www.debforvermont.com/
Claim to fame as I see it online: “Deb has won six statewide elections and winning every town in Vermont with Republicans and Progressives in the races.”Online political personality: Bandwagon

What catches the eye

Deb Markowitz has taken Round One of this knock-down, drag-out fight with the sole candidate who matters. (This high-five to herself refers to a screen shot of a poll touting her slim lead very early in the campaign season over Republican Brian Dubie. You take what you get in a crowded primary.)

http://www.debforvermont.com/

Recurring

She is out to shake up the status quo of “Montpelier” politics and “business as usual.” In this respect, she tries to paint herself as sort of an outsider, though she clearly is an insider.

Dynamic statement on issues or static?

She uses the campaign website as an ongoing expression of perspective outside of her patented issue position, I think fairly effectively. If she takes this race to November, there will be a full record of public statements that will provide a concrete direction for governance. Unlike several of the campaign sites, newsy information is positioned with her commentary. This recital ties her to current events and provides her own spin linked with the news of the day.

Utility

www.debforvermont.com

There’s an easy fill-in-the-blank form for volunteers. “Tell friends” and “Invite Deb” to speak (her casual pitch: “In Vermont, we expect to meet our elected officials and shake their hands.”) I found no calendar, but perhaps I missed it. Read six of these sites over several days, and you too might lose your perspective on real life.

Testimonials

She has quite a line-up of supporters, from every Vermont county, broken down geographically, with a real grassroots feel. You will find a local name for sure. She swamps the other candidates with this feature. There are local political leaders, but no legislative big-shots I noticed. She rakes the grassroots:

www.debforvermont.com

137 names from Chittenden County. (She is not ceding Chittenden to
homer Democrat Doug Racine and certainly not to homer Republican Brian Dubie. We have a real race in Vermont’s most populated county.)

112 Washington (her home county).

64 Windsor. (This is about the same number alone for Dubie’s pin-up map of supporters, so she is beating him with testimonials as well.)

Vendor/creator for the site

NPG is based in Washington, D.C. I sent a note, and I was informed by campaign manger Paul Tencher, “Our point of contact for NGP is Sam Osborne, a Burlington resident.”

What struck me

I find the preoccupation with business in the election interesting. I get the jobs aspect of course with the rough economy. I am not sure I get the pervasive push for business with a big B. This was the pitch of Gov. Jim Douglas over and over for nearly a decade with questionable results, so it’s ingrained in the landscape of rhetoric. But I think many businesses will tell you having a governor on your side counts for squat. It’s those contrary rank-and-file legislators you really need.

The Markowitz campaign writes, “As Governor, Deb will serve as the chief marketing officer for the state, telling businesses right here in Vermont and across the globe what a great place Vermont is for business.”

I am almost certain this same glee is not celebrated among business. I attended a day-long business extravaganza sponsored by Lt. Gov. Dubie (not “candidate” Dubie; that would be improper to campaign as a state employee). I heard no such thing that the Green Mountain State is a great place for business. Far from it. In fact, I don’t recall any of the scores of business people saying anything good about doing business in Vermont.

What’s missing

Her own Dubie tour of the business landscape would surely be an eye-opener.

Final words

I will tape this graph on my computer as a constant reminder. I have found few such champions of openness in Vermont, especially at the level where a Secretary of State is most familiar — villages, towns and cities. Now, if Deb Markowitz can walk the talk as governor as she touts as secretary of state, happy days are here again for advocates of unobstructed public access.

7 Responses to Deb Markowitz campaign website, curated

I am an Independent and asked Mike to review my site. He said he would take a look. Oh well guess it was not good enough for him. I designed the site myself since I did not have the money to pay someone to do it.

I have been to your site half a dozen times now, and this time I am adding it to my bookmarks Your discussions are always relevant, unlike the same-old stuff on other sites (which are coming off my bookmarks!) Two thumbs up!